Viola Lee Blues is one of my favs, and I wanted to see any good suggestion performances. I have some good ones, but I need more. My all-time fav is from 4-21-69 in Boston, and the one from Harpur College (dick's picks 8) is good too. Anybody have some good ones?

Reddy, We must have been tuned in. This song was my choice for the
Almost-Never-Played songs yesterday afternoon.

Story:
In the Srping of '89, I sent off for Frost tix. The weeks went by. One afternoon I was playing in my trailer, and I had just figured out the chords to Viola Lee Blues. I was very psyched and I was *belting* it out! On my fifth or so pass on the song, I was on the verse about 'mailed a letter' when there was a thunderous knocking on the side of the trailer. I was pretty alarmed. I opened the door and it was the mailman. He said, "I'm sorry for knocking so hard. I've been here a while..." He had my Frost tix. Talk about a 'friend somewhere!'. It was the May '89 shows where I had my encounter with the Godhead- Big Time. But that's another story.

My favorite is from Binghamton, but mostly because I haven't heard many others. Now I really want to hear the ones mentioned above. (I can't seem to figure out how to find shows on this web site.)

Have you tried the 1967-06-18 Monterey Pop VLB?
Fantastic version. Also, it'as available on film/video download on youtube, though the archive.org version (google it) is longer and sounds better than the youtube truncated outtake.

Also, have you seen PETULIA, the 1967 movie? (Release date 1968) - great footage of the Grateful Dead playing Viola Lee Blues. Big Brother rocks out Roadblock at the Fairmount Hotel, too.

Further comments on the O'Keefe Center Show are posted at wolfgangsvault.com - search for it, enlarge the handbill or poster - read the story - even the ushers were waving goodbye on the last day, sad to see them go or maybe just one hand clapping?

There's the September 3rd 1967 version too, (the legendary Rio Nido VLB jam ends abruptly on LMA, but a more complete version has been added as a bonus on their remastered debut album which is also included with the Golden Roads box set).
The tune, an old jug band stomper, was the Dead's all-out show stopper during their '66 through '69 shows, and especially evokes their '67 tangle with the establishment if you will.

The outtake footage of the Dead playing VLB at Monterey Pop shows them giving it all they've got... on the reprise after the jam, Jerry holds up his right hand and jumps up, twice for good measure.

Thankx for all the info cream-puff-war. You helped me out a lot, and I've never seen Petulia. I'm dying to see it now. By the way, how great would it have been for Mother McCree's to crank out a ballsy jug band version of VLB?